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Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst Preview

Scheduled release date:
February 23, 2016
Publisher:
Electronic Arts
Developer:
DICE
Number Of Players:
1
Genre:
Action/Adventure
Release Date:
May 24, 2016


The original Mirror’s Edge was a unique first-person action game that blended high-intensity speed-running with platforming and puzzle elements. It only managed to sell about a million copies but it was a brand new IP, and it also released relatively early in a new generation, so it certainly wasn’t a failure. While it may not have been a blockbuster breakaway hit, it still generated a lot of loyal followers, all of whom were excited when a follow-up entry came to light. It took developer DICE quite some time to produce this news but after all, they’ve been busy with other projects ( Battlefield , for instance) and besides, they’ve put a lot of effort into rebooting Faith’s playground.

The developers have indeed called Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst a “complete reboot" and it’s the team’s chance to appeal to a wider audience. It’s undoubtedly a risk for publisher Electronic Arts – a fact DICE has mentioned several times – but this only means the design team has to work that much harder to ensure a successful launch. Perhaps the first step was to give the main character a heftier background and story, as it wasn’t well explained in the first title. In order to do Faith justice and create a story in which players might actually take an interest, DICE has created an entirely new playground. This one is definitely open-world but there’s still an emphasis on “proper character development.”

Free-running is, in and of itself, a compelling gameplay style. In the original game, it required the player to look at things in a different way; most first-person adventures were, and still are, shooters. We’ll once again have to look at our surroundings as one giant playground for the protagonist’s prodigious capabilities, and while the puzzle/adventure elements could be less of a focus, DICE made a good decision: They ditched the guns. They seemed to be an afterthought in the original quest and really, they weren’t necessary. The developers obviously agree as they’ve already confirmed that Faith won’t be handling firearms in Catalyst . She will, on the other hand, have a more robust physical attack arsenal, which includes flinging herself off walls to strike down foes. It’s more than a little bad-ass.